The World Press Photo of the Year 2018 goes to Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt

The World Press Photo of the Year 2018 goes to Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt

The jury of the 61st World Press Photo Contest has selected an image by Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt as the 2018 World Press Photo of the Year. Schemidt, a staff photographer for Agence France-Presse based in Mexico, won with his image entitled “Venezuela Crisis,” showing a protester on fire during clashes with police in Caracas, Venezuela.

Schemidt’s winning photo — which also won first prize in the Spot News Stories category — shows José Víctor Salazar Balza, 28, on fire amid violent clashes with riot police during a protest against President Nicolás Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Salazar was set alight when the gas tank of a motorbike exploded. He survived the incident with first- and second-degree burns.

The 2018 Photo Contest drew entries from around the world: 4,548 photographers from 125 countries submitted 73,044 images. The jury gave prizes in eight categories to 42 photographers from 22 countries.

The prize-winning photographs are assembled into an exhibition that travels to 100 locations in 45 countries and is seen by more than 4 million people each year. The winning pictures are also published in the annual yearbook, which is available in multiple languages. The World Press Photo Exhibition 2018 opens in De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, on April 14, 2018. For more information about the traveling exhibition, please follow this link.